The challenges of working from home

Waking up and already being at work or strolling into the office in your PJ’s sounds like a dream. Chat to a client whilst you are mopping the floor and just think of all the money you’ll be saving on travel and work lunches, it makes you wonder why anyone actually goes into the office nowadays.

Working from home may sound like your dream situation but there are good reasons that not many of us do it. If you are thinking about setting up shop from home or making the move to work from a home office then here are some things to consider.

Work is work and home is home
Try to keep these areas as separate as possible. It is bad enough taking work home from the office with you but when your office is your home it becomes even more of challenge to separate and define these two very different areas of your life.

Try creating an office space that you look forward to walking into and make sure your work materials and filing etc are all grouped together and in this room. Having work papers staring at you from the dining room table or the mantle piece will only heighten your stress levels. When you finish work, close the office door, divert your work calls to voicemail and go home.

Loneliness
A huge factor of an office environment is the social element that comes with it. Often we develop some of our closest friends at work. Our colleagues are great people to bounce ideas off of even to have a good vent too. If its just little old you alone in the office you might find you miss the company you were used to in a bustling office and you’ll also miss out on great business contacts you could have made.

Extra costs
If you are working for yourself then you will not be entitled to any company perks such as a car, pension or paid holiday or sick leave. These are things that you will have to budget for yourself and can often mean you lend up with far less of an income than you had considered.

ProfessionalismDon’t get sloppy because you are working from home. Everything needs to be just as professional. Letter heads, emails, voicemails, materials and your appearance!

Discipline and motivation
You are in charge of your schedule and this mean you have to have some serious self discipline. Taking random breaks to watch your favourite day time T.V is not professional and will not get you far. If you find it difficult to motivate yourself then create a daily schedule and learn to stick to it.

In general most people who work from home really enjoy the freedom and flexibility that it offers, don’t go handing in your notice just yet though. Consider all of the above and then decide if working from home is the most suitable option for you.